I'm tired and not particularly inspired to write today (which I guess occasionally comes with the territory of writing every day), so this is a short one.

When you travel with someone for a long period of time, you constantly find yourselves waiting in a lot of lines, sitting next to each other on a lot of planes, buses, and trains, and walking together through the city.

One way Todd and I pass the time is asking "genie questions". Not a particularly original idea, but good for hours of fun and an occasional insight. Here are some examples, which you can answer in the comments:

A genie comes up and offers to pay you to change from a man to a woman or vice versa. No surgery, just instant transformation as if you'd always been that way. What's the lowest you'd be willing to do it for?

The genie tells you that he's found the exact perfect guy/girl for you. He'll make the introduction, but only if you agree to never leave the US again. Will you do it?

The genie offers you a fixed salary just to live your life... the only catch is that you can't ever make more money than that. What's the lowest amount you'll take?

The Genie offers to magically give money to one of your friends, say $10,000. The only problem is that a fraction of the money is going to come from your account and your friend can never know that you were responsible for his good fortune.

The game is only fun if you take time and imagine the situation and try to be as honest as possible.

My answers: 1) $1m. I'm really really glad to be a guy, but most girls seem pretty happy being girls, too. I'd be a lesbian. 2) nope 3) I hate this question. I waffle between picking something like $100k/month and refusing to do it altogether because business is fun. 4) Depends on the friend, but probably around 20% if I thought it would do them a lot of good.

It's a little like saying "So I haven't played this in a long time, go easy on me if I mess it up" at open mic or "Hey, sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if maybe you might want to" when talking to a girl.

1. I'd do that for free!
2. I'll substitute UK into that one and respond with yes...I'm not that interested in travelling.
3. I agree that this would be boring; I'd rather have unsteady payments that I'd properly worked for than a permanent fixed salary that didn't necessarily require much effort on my part.
4. You sort of missed the question out here. From your answer, I'm guessing it's something along the lines of "What's the maximum you'd be willing to give?", and in answer to that - none. If a friend needed money, I'd be happy to help out, but if they were to just magically receive £10k, I'd imagine that would cause them more stress than being a bit short on cash.

A lot of people didn't like the first installment of the story.. You have a few more days to write everyday... When in doubt... Who else have you gotten fired. I personally got 2 fired...but I'm also a pain to work with.

Which probably explains why my tires got popped when I saw old coworkers at the bowling alley.

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High school is nearing its final semester and I need a P.E. credit. Actually I need two P.E. credits. If you've ever taken the time to admire my physique, it may surprise you to hear that my high school career is lacking in the Physical Education department. Suspend your disbelief for a moment.

I sign up for bowling by correspondence. It sounds easy and I like bowing. One down, one to go.

Birds caw and cicadas click gently, filling the warm afternoon air with sounds of nature. The train platform is open to the air and on the other side of the tracks is a high fence. Beyond it, a bicycle and walking path leading to a park.

Children are running around and playing in the park, but surprisingly quietly. Very Japanese.